


With Apologies to Eduardo de Valfierno

by Lavanya_Six



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Canon Compliant, Forgery, Gen, Interrogation, Prequel, Theft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-20
Updated: 2011-08-20
Packaged: 2017-10-22 21:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/242627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavanya_Six/pseuds/Lavanya_Six
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Grand Secretariat interrogates a Neal Caffrey type.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With Apologies to Eduardo de Valfierno

_Ro's Three Buttermoths and Rice Grain_ was a triumph of the late Yi Ming Era, one of the few surviving pieces of the rural-themed art that dominated the Upper Ring's tastes as the nobility took to regularly visiting the countryside following the construction of the monorail system. Most other examples of Ro's bold experimentation with Water Tribe pigments had been lost during the Great Peasant Rebellion, stolen by looters or burnt by revolutionaries. _Three Buttermoths and Rice Grain_ had hung proudly in the Imperial Gallery for over three centuries.

Until two months ago, when he stole it.

It'd been the crowning achievement of his career before the Dai Li had caught up with him. Now the thief sat chained to a chair, underground... somewhere... with only one question between him and a shallow grave.

"Which one is real?"

Before him were four copies of _Three Buttermoths and Rice Grain_ hanging on pillars of bent earth. Despite his split lip, the thief felt like smiling. There was no chance of the Dai Li having dismissed any of them as frauds, his craftsmanship was perfect, meaning they'd only found three of the seven forgeries he had fenced in place of the original. These supposedly invincible policemen had shortcomings.

He was better then them. Not that that was ever in doubt.

"Answer the question!"

The chained thief shrugged as best as he was able. "If you can't appreciate the difference, what's it matter to you?"

The Dai Li agent backhanded him. Behind the thief, another agent grabbed hold of his hair and forced his head up. The first agent drew his hand back for another blow.

"That's enough for now," said a new voice.

From the left, out of the interrogation chamber's darkness, a bearded man appeared. The thief thrilled with terror. The Grand Secretariat himself, here? For him?

"Clever," said the Grand Secretariat. "Stealing the original for yourself while selling off copies. All your marks thought they owned a genuine Ro. Did you paint the forgeries before or after?"

"Before."

"From memory."

"That's right."

"Impressive, coming from a Middle Ring bookkeeper."

"It's impressive for _anyone_."

The Grand Secretariat nodded. "We've followed your career with interest, up until it ended today." He hesitated. "Do you love Ba Sing Se?"

The thief scowled. Didn't they care about his masterpiece?

"Do you love Ba Sing Se?" The Grand Secretariat gestured to the forgeries. "Because someone who did not couldn't appreciate Ro's artistry enough to craft these. Your skills in subterfuge and infiltration are invaluable. But let me be more precise: do you love Ba Sing Se more to die for it or to live for it?"

"What's the difference?"

"You can join the Penal Legions to save our city's heritage, or you can join the Dai Li and do the same."

"That's not much of a choice," the thief scoffed.

"Your third option is summary execution."

"Well, when you put it like _that_..."

The guards undid his chains.

"Welcome to the Dai Li, Agent Long Feng."

The former thief smiled. "Glad to be here, _sir_."


End file.
